Show I Long Hair Doesn't i Help Grade Boys who wear long hair in Salt Lake City junior and senior high schools on the average get lower grades more often and have less favorable attitudes toward teachers and school yet they equal their short-haired short peers in intelligence and achievement achievement achievement achieve achieve- ment ability THESE WERE the findings of a University of Utah student student student stu stu- stu- stu dent whose recently completed masters thesis in educational psychology included a detailed comparison of a group of young males who wear long hair with another group who do not Mrs James E. E Foard said comparing the two groups proved extremely difficult because because because be be- cause there was wide variation variation variation vari vari- among the boys within each individual group BUT I have concluded Mrs Foard added that teachers and school administrators administrators administrators adminis adminis- are likely to discriminate discriminate discriminate nate against boys who wear their hair long This in turn reinforces whatever kind of non-conforming non behavior the students may have encourages encourages encourages ages rebellion and can lead to dropping out Of 81 ninth-grade ninth boys from four junior high schools who took District Evaluation tests last spring 12 or about 15 percent were classified as long-haired long and were chosen for Mrs Foard's study Thirty- Thirty five or about seven percent of boys from three high schools were classified as longhaired longhaired long long- haired and were also picked for the study ALTHOUGH MEAN scores on the various achievement tests were nearly identical in both groups the cumulative grade point averages for the thenon non non long group were somewhat higher compared compared compared com com- pared to to Mrs Foard stressed however there were students with high and low grades in both groups but overall the long-haired long boys had lower grades Concerning absenteeism the theU theU theU U researcher said the longhaired longhaired long long- haired group missed more school 1410 days per semester semester semester se se- compared to days for the non-long-haired non group She explained that a afew afew afew few long hairs exhibited chronic chron chron- ic absenteeism which affected the overall average Probably the most significant finding in the study was the higher dropout potential exhibited by bythe bythe bythe the long-haired long group ACCORDING TO Mrs Foard the tile wearing of long hair appeared appeared appeared ap to be a deviance from the norms of many adults and was classified as a stigmatic stimulus In turn this nonconformity nonconformity nonconformity non non- conformity was believed to be influential in the boys' boys perception perception per per- of teachers who represent represent represent sent authority Mrs Foard got the idea for her thesis from her own son year old Walker a junior high school student who wears his hair long Long hair she added was the subject of a running battle in our home and I wanted to find out more about it on a larger scale |